Chapter 8

Two Terminal
Electronic Devices
Diodes
 Conduct electricity in one direction

 Two terminal devices

 n-type and p-type side

 Primarily made of silicon

Doping
The adding of impurities

 n-type crystal
 e.g. Silicon doped with Phosphorous
 negative charge carriers
 electrons

 p-type crystal
 e.g. Silicon doped with Aluminum
 positive charge carriers
 vacancy or hole

Periodic Table
Diodes

Circuit Symbol

p-type n-type
Flapper Valve Analogy

Flapper
Valve
Analogy
Diode Characteristics
 Forward-Bias Condition
 Good Conductor

 Reverse-Bias Condition
 High Resistance

 I versus V Plot
 Ideal Diode and Real Diode
 “Knee” and Breakdown Voltage
 Three Regions
Diode Circuits
 rec·ti·fi·er
Pronunciation: 'rek-t&-"fI(-&)r
Function: noun
Date: 1611
: one that rectifies; specifically : a device for
converting alternating current into direct current

 Half-Wave Rectifier

 Full-Wave Rectifier

 Bridge Rectifier
Smoothing Capacitors
 Ripple Voltage (V)

 DC Component (VDC)

V
 Ripple Factor r
VDC
Zener Diodes
 Zener Diodes are intended to operate in the
breakdown region.

 Manufacturers set the breakdown voltage by

modifying the doping.

 Zener diodes can make good voltage regulators.

 Circuit Symbol

 Clarence Zener once visited SFA.

How do you convert AC to DC?

Diode Smoothing
AC Input
Rectifier Capacitor

Voltage
DC Output
Regulator

Voltage Regulators remove the ripple.

Chapter 10
Diodes
What is an ideal diode?

 An ideal diode is a perfect conductor

with zero voltage drop in the forward
bias direction…
 …and a perfect insulator in the reverse
bias direction.
What element from the periodic
table are diodes made of?

 Silicon
What is a Zener diode? How do the
circuit symbols for a diode and a Zener
diode differ?
 Zener diodes are intended to operate in the
breakdown region -usually as voltage
regulators.
 Manufacturers set the breakdown voltage by
careful doping.
What does the circuit symbol for an
LED look like?
Sketch a circuit for a half-wave
rectifier. Also, make a plot of voltage
versus time for the voltage output
across the load resistor.
Sketch a circuit for a full-wave
rectifier. Also, make a plot of
voltage versus time for the voltage
output across the load resistor.
 Atomic Physics
 How many electrons can be in the ground state of an
atom?
 Answer: 2 (s level)

 ...in the first excited state?

 Answer: 8 (s and p levels)

 …in the second excited state?

 Answer: 8 (s and p levels)
Valence Electrons

 Valence electrons are electrons in the

outermost shell of the atom that can
participate in forming chemical bonds with
other atoms.

 How many valence electrons does Silicon

have?
 Answer: 4
 How many electrons are needed to fill the
outermost energy level of Silicon?
 Answer: 4
 2-D representation of Silicon Crystal

 How many valence electrons does Phosphorus

(15P) and Aluminum (13Al) have?
 Answers: 5 and 3
 Concept Test
 Is a high or low value for the ripple voltage V
desirable?
 Answer: Low
 What are three ways to achieve low ripple
voltages?
 Answers:
 Low Current
 High Frequency

 High Capacitance
Concept Question
 What components do you need to convert a 110-Volt
AC signal to a 9-Volt DC signal?
 Answers:
 Transformer – to step down the voltage
 Diodes – to rectify the waveform (make +)
 Capacitor – to smooth the rectified waveform
 Voltage Regulator – to remove the ripple
 Note that the device connected to this 9-Volt power supply
acts as a resistor.
 For this reason the device is sometimes called the “load” or
“load resistance”.
Semiconductors
 Germanium
 32 protons
 Silicon
 14 protons
 Most commonly used
 Concept Test
 Is a high or low value for the ripple voltage V
desirable?
 Answer: Low
 What are three ways to achieve low ripple
voltages?
 Answers:
 Low Current
 High Frequency

 High Capacitance